magnolia is the first movie in a long time to linger in my mind days after i've left the theater. 195 minutes, and each was as gripping as the next. nearly 72 hours later, and i can still see scene after scene, image after image, vividly. it's strange, those things your brain chooses to hold onto.

today is joanna collins's birthday. joanna was my best friend in 5th grade after christina corral and before natalie sasser. she had perfect penmanship and big white teeth and the loudest laugh since my mother. on her 11th birthday we went to skateway, the neighborhood roller rink, and i wanted john kleinpeter to ask me to skate with him so badly .

i don't know when was the last time i saw her or thought about her, for that matter. years, i'm sure. but all it took was a glance at the date to see her before me: standing tall on the white rollerskates, her ponytail atop her head and those big white teeth, shining in the flickering birthday candles.

i wonder if people think of me, ever. if i come up in their thoughts when they least expect it. when they hear a certain song or eat a particular food or look at the calendar. i hope so. it's nice to think i might be somebody's fond memory.